LIPA: Still 220 outages on North Fork; 98 percent restoration expected by Tuesday

KATIE COE COURTESY PHOTO | A downed power line in Mattituck Oct. 29, the day Superstorm Sandy struck the North Fork.

LIPA officials announced Saturday that they will have completed restoration to 98 percent of customers who lost power during Superstorm Sandy by Tuesday afternoon.

That’s 15 days after the storm hit and that does not include outages in areas like Long Beach and the Rockaways, where restoration is not yet possible..

Here on the North Fork, 220 LIPA customers were still without power as of 9 a.m. Sunday — 159 in Riverhead and 61 in Southold. The two towns have the fewest remaining outages on Long Island.

While LIPA has taken down its original interactive outage map after customers complained it was inaccurate, the total number of outages can still be viewed by clicking here.

You can read LIPA’s Saturday update below:

Power Restored to 93% of Long Island Electric System

38,000 outages due to LIPA system damage remain in Nassau County
28,000 outages due to LIPA system damage remain in Suffolk County
99% of those who are able to receive power to be restored by end of Tuesday
Over 1 million customer outages restored

A workforce of 15,000 lineman, field and support personnel restored power to 84,000 customers in the past 24 hours, bringing 93% of the Long Island electric system on-line. In flood impacted areas, LIPA has repaired and where possible, energized the power. However, while there is power in the neighborhoods, severe damage to the homes themselves prevents the homeowner from connecting to the electric grid. Local officials and LIPA estimate 55,000 could be powered, however if the damage to the homes is too severe and repairs to home or an inspection must be completed before the house can be reconnected to the grid. On Long Island the bulk of these are in Island Park, Oceanside and the East Rockaway area, with smaller pockets in other south shore communities.

In Nassau, 250 surveyors are out in the field, with teams of technicians and electric servicemen following closely behind to re-energize those premises that are found to be safe. Those areas include Bellmore, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Merrick, Seaford, Wantagh, Baldwin, Baldwin Harbor, East Rockaway, Island Park, Lynbrook, and Oceanside.

Up to 500 additional linemen are arriving on Long Island today and will supplement the already 9,600 linemen and tree trim crews that are working to bring power back to all remaining customers who are able to receive power safely.

Restoration in the Rockaways
LIPA is continuing to restore the electric “backbone” in the Rockaway Peninsula.

Power Restored to:

Sewage Treatment facility Beach Channel Dr. and Beach 108th St.

Scholar’s Academy School Beach 104th St

3 MTA rectifier stations

St John’s Episcopal Hospital

Arverne by The Sea Residential Development (High ground)

Bezalel nursing home on Far Rockaway Blvd whose generator had failed (averting the patients from being evacuated)

Restoration in Long Beach
LIPA and National Grid continue to make significant process in restoring power back to Long Beach with expectation that 90% of the people able to receive power will be restored today.